MONTEVIDEO – Shipments to Russia of high quality Uruguayan beef will no longer be subject to ceilings and will pay tariffs at a much-reduced rate of 15 percent, Uruguay’s government said Thursday.

Until now, individual shipments could be no larger than 3,000 tons and faced a tariff of 50 percent.

The process leading to the change began in August 2012, when Uruguay voted to approve Russian membership in the World Trade Organization in exchange for Moscow’s commitment to treat Uruguayan beef imports more favorably.

“We worked for three years in negotiations to get Russia to accept high-quality beef with lower tariffs,” Agriculture Minister Tabare Aguerre said.

The minister is set to travel to Russia next week for the Feb. 7-13 ProdExpo Moscow agriculture fair.

“Four years ago Russia was the second-largest market for Uruguayan beef,” Aguerre said. “After the depreciation of the ruble against the dollar there have not been many transactions, so this agreement is very important.”

Enter your email address to subscribe to free headlines (and great cartoons so every email has a happy ending!) from the Latin American Herald Tribune: